Guidance on when to initiate a safeguarding enquiry as opposed to a quality alert

• NRS Healthcare is our commissioned provider of community equipment for the Integrated Community Equipment Scheme (ICES). 
• Occasionally, residents that are prescribed community equipment may experience delays in receiving them. Delays may pose a risk to safeguarding, or it may impact on quality of service.
• All delays need to be reported because of the potential impact on the resident concerned. 
• In order to ensure residents that are prescribed community equipment remain safe, below is guidance on reporting delays and whether to initiate a safeguarding enquiry or a quality alert.

Harm or physical issues – raise a Section 42.2 (Further enquiries)

• If a delay in NRS Healthcare equipment provision leads to harm or physical issues, such as pressure sores or falls due to missing equipment, raise a Section 42.2 (Further Enquiries)

Significant risk and potential impact – raise a Section 42.1 (Information gathering)

• If a delay in NRS Healthcare equipment does not lead to harm, but there is a significant risk, raise a Section 42.1 (Info gathering). The potential impact on the individual is of paramount importance. Even if a decision against further investigation is reached, a Section 42.1 would still be open so that our rationale is documented. 

No serious risk – raise a quality alert or complaint

• If a delay does not equate to a safeguarding concern or potential harm, raise a quality alert or complaint.  For example, a delay in delivering non-essential equipment which wouldn't pose a serious risk due to its late arrival.

Additional information

• ASC and NRS Healthcare will meet every six weeks to assess safeguarding enquiries in order to extract learning and development insights
• NRS Healthcare will utilise the Camden Safeguarding Referral Form for any safeguarding concerns identified within the community
• We are committed to assisting NRS in refining their policies and procedures from a safeguarding perspective, ensuring alignment with the Care Act 2014 and Multi-Agency Policy and Procedures
• Should any team come across significant concerns regarding NRS's role, please inform Noel Geoghegan, Annette Thompson or Helen Onslow. This ensures we can best support NRS in our subsequent meetings.
• It remains the responsibility of the prescriber to initiate safeguarding referrals, either internally or externally
• External professionals are expected to use the SAPB referral form, whilst internal concerns can directly access the Section 42.1 document
• All referrals must be communicated to our commissioning colleagues, Tim Rising and Jacqueline Garraway